02 Nov 11 Nokia N8 with Symbian Anna full potential finally released
Specifications
Platform: Symbian Anna
Processor: ARM-11 @ 680 MHz
RAM: 256MB
Display: 3.5-inch AMOLED (640 x 360 pixels) capacitive display, gorilla glass
Storage: 16GB inbuilt, microSD slot upto 32 GB
Camera: 12MP with 720pHD video
Battery: 1200 mAh
This is the classic case of a device realizing its potential much later than expected. The Nokia N8 has been around for about a year now, but the completely undercooked Symbian 3 OS had ruined what was, at least as far as the hardware was concerned, a superb phone. However, that has changed now, with the Symbian Anna update.
The N8 performs much better now. The interface is much faster, doesn’t slow down under background app load and during the long duration we had the phone, it did not hang every once. Contrast this to Symbian 3 days when a few hang issues (and reboots) a day was the norm. Battery life too has seen a huge improvement.
What Nokia hasn’t done with Anna is change the way widgets are handled. In fact the size remains the same and the number of widgets seems to have come down, with not too many options available on the OVI store either. Social networking integration isn’t good, and neither is the Social app.
At around Rs. 23,000 it doesn’t make sense to consider buying the N8. The excellent 12MP camera, much improved OS performance and excellent battery life should work in its favor, though.
01 Nov 11 Logitech Z623 bring home the movies
Specifications
Output: 200 watts RMS
Frequency response: 20Hz~20 kHz
Input: RCA and 3.5 mm
The Z623 is a pretty popular THX certified 2.1 speaker set. Built in all black, the satellites along with the subwoofer push out a believable 200 watts of thump. The right speaker has dials for volume and bass. A remote, even a wired one, would’ve been nice. As for performance, the THX certification meant that we ran a bigger set of movies and games apart from our gamut of normal test tracks.
The sound signature was more on the bright side, with sparkly highs, a recessed mid-range and deep rumbling bass. When it came to vocals and mids-heavy tracks, the Z623 faltered a bit. Particular instruments like the cellon on Santana’s cover of ‘while my guitar gently weeps’ sounded flat and without body; as did Chris Rea’s vocals on ‘Cal On Me’. But movies and games sounded outstanding; every thump, growl, and rumble could be felt. The speakers can handle instrument density and layered tracks well too.
The THX certification goes a long way towards ensuring quality components and ‘tweaking’ for movies, yet the other half of the battle-your listening environment-is bound to produce unpredictable results when trying to replicate the theatre experience. The speakers feel sturdy dampening feet, sturdy dials and decent body material.
At a price of Rs.11,495 this speaker set should be perfect fit for those looking for quality audio in the desktop 2.1 space, especially if you’re more into games and movies.
31 Oct 11 Dell XPS 15z style-savvy full-HD home entertainment laptop
Specifications
Screen: 15.6-inch,LED-blacklit, 1920×1080 res
CPU: Intel core i7-2620M 2.9 GHz
RAM: 8 GB DDR3
HDD: 750 GB, 7200 RPM
GPU: nvidia GeForce GT 525M (2 GB), Intel HD 3000
OS: windows 7 home premium 64-bit
The 15-inch Dell XPS 15z has a polished metal exterior that feels rich and premium on touch. Its screen lid and bottom cover are made of anodized aluminum that resists scratches; it also has a lighter silvery hue like the unibody Apple Mac-Book pro. Though the 0.97-inch thick Del XPS 15z is slightly slimmer than the MacBook Pro which has a thickness of 1 inch, you can barely feel the difference. The whole unit’s magnesium alloy chassis is very well built-no creaky joints, no cheap plastics-all you feel is a fine aluminum block that encases a powerful PC.
The Dell XPS 15z comes with a full-HD, 1920×1080 pixel resolution display. It has good brightness and contrast levels even at the corner edges. The laptop keyboard is pretty good for typing the tactile feedback, zero flex from the keyboard deck and the plush, wide palm rest make typing on the XPS 15z extremely convenient.
Given the laptop’s internal hardware, the XPS 15z is well-equipped to be a powerful all purpose laptop for your home, tuned for multimedia and entertainment use. Not only does the 15-inch Dell XPS 15z have above average internal hardware, the laptop comes with abundant connectivity features. Its multimedia performance is very good: gaming isn’t bad and its battery life is better than average.
If you can afford it at an MRP of Rs 81,800 the Dell XPS15z is well worth the money for a style-savvy, all purpose home entertainment laptop .
30 Oct 11 Razer Imperator 2012, Ergonomic design meets very good performance
Specifications
Weight: 125g
Sensor: 6400 DPI laser & optical
Max. acceleration: 50g
Polling time: 1ms
Onboard memory: NA
Customizable buttons: 7
Connectivity: USB
The new and improved Razer Imperator 4G 2012 makes a couple of important tweaks to elevate a very good gaming mouse to new heights.
Its top sports a brushed chrome finish that feels nice to hold, and the mouse is almost ambidextrous, with a subtle shift favoring right-handed gamers. In terms of design, the Imperator 2012 is extremely ergonomic. You will like the side grip on the mouse sporting an anti-slip rubber surface, compared to the previous Imperator which had a tacky plastic coating. This lends the imperator a solid grip. The mouse lets you physically move its side buttons forward or back by a button slider-a good feature, as it accommodates different grip styles. But overall you like the Imperator’s chunky size and sung palm fitting.
The most interesting feature of the mouse is its dual-sensor-optical and laser sensing. They blend together perfectly to offer the imperator not only an extremely high DPI limit, but most importantly also an astute lift-off and surface calibration system. The cursor freezes when you lift the mouse and works near-flawlessly on a polished wooden table-top as well as a game pad. The bundled software lets you calibrate the surface options of the mouse in greater details, program each of the imperator’s seven buttons to record macros and create multiple user profiles.
While playing FPS and RTS games, the imperator performed very well, the mouse gripped nicely and there was no unnecessary skidding at an Mrp of Rs.4,299. It’s slightly expensive, yes, but offers great performance for gamers.
29 Oct 11 LG Optimus 3D, three dimensions and a headache
Specifications
OS: android 2.2
Processor: ARM Cortex-A9 Dual core 1GHz, power VR SGX540 graphics
RAM: 512 MB
Storage: 8GB
Camera: Dual 5MP, 1080p @ 30 fps for 2D videos and 720p @30fps for 3D videos
Battery: 1500mAh
As a plain Smartphone, it’s a bit of disappointment in terms of looks-it’s thick and heavy at 168 g. the rubberized feeling does help with the grip. The ‘top heavy’ nature of the phone can be a bit disconcerting at first, since it’ll constantly attempt to tilt backwards, headfirst.
But the Optimus 3D has a 4.3-inch 3D display. Excellent color with only very minor gradation of colors (at times), great brightness levels and the fast moving scenes in videos are smoother than most other high-end smart phones.
The Optimus 3D’s 3D display functions without glasses i.e. The display is auto-stereoscopic, and it works quite well. 3D content plays well, with good depth and color, but all isn’t perfect as some 3D content shows up with slightly visible vertical black lines. What beyond the pre-loaded content, though? The Android market doesn’t have any 3D content to speak of. The Battery of 1500mAh lasts a full day between charges.
The Optimus 3D is something of a novelty, being one of the earliest 3D capable phone to hit India. However, it isn’t the fastest device around, and neither is it the sleekest. It also debuts with Froyo. Spending Rs 37,000 on this doesn’t make sense, especially when there are other options available, without 3D. You must be a real fan of the whole 3D phenomena to opt for Optimus 3D
28 Oct 11 HP t200 budget friendly HD digital camcorder
Specifications
LCD display: 3-inch touch screen LCD panel
Video resolution: 1080p @ 30fps, 720p HD @ 30FPS and 60fps, VGA @30 fps
Video Format: H.264 (.AVI)
Still image resolution: 5 MP
Zoom: 16x Digital
The HP t200 digital camcorder is a full HD compact camcorder that can literally fit in the back pocket of your jeans. The build is all plastic and there is a piano black glossy finish all around, except the top. Ergonomically, the camcorder is quite a snug fit even with those who have small hands. The HD lens has an adjustable ring which switches from Macro focus mode to Landscape focus mod.
There are very few manual shooting options. The resolution on the screen is not very good and you can see pixilation at the edge of the icons.
The settings menu is broadly divided into Video, Photo, Effect and Settings. Still Photo mode offers options to set resolutions, ISO and self timers. The Effects menu helps you tweak further by choosing lighting modes, white balance etc.
The touch screen does not have a haptic feedback but is quite responsive. Indoor shooting gives decent colors, but try zooming in and noise starts to become prominent. While shooting outdoors, there are no issues with noise. On maximum zoom, the hand needs to be rock steady. The microphone on the rear side of the flip-out screen is not what you can call powerful.
At Rs. 8,499 this is a very economically priced HD camcorder. But get this if you plan to use it majorly outdoors in daylight, as indoors and low lit conditions do not really get the best out of the t200.
